After a six-week break, Champions League football returned on Tuesday night, with Sporting Lisbon facing a tough test as they welcome current holders Paris Saint-Germain to the Estadio Jose Alvalade for the final match of the league stage.
This is the first meeting between the two sides in UEFA competition and comes at a time when the Lions are 14th in the 36-team table, two points adrift of the automatic qualification places and three points behind the Parisians, who are in third.
match preview
Having already suffered a double blow in the first half of the Champions League, Sporting head into Tuesday’s clash looking to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on matchday five at the Allianz Arena.
Rui Borges’s side managed to keep the Bavarians at bay in the first half, even taking the lead through a Joshua Kimmich own goal in the 54th minute, but conceded three goals in a 12-minute spell just after the hour mark, handing the Lisbon side their second defeat of the league stage campaign.
There is no better place to compensate for that blow than Jose Alvalade, who has suffered a complete loss in all three Champions League games on the field this season, including wins over Kairat Almaty, Marseille and Club Brugge.
Another win on Tuesday would see the Lions make it four consecutive wins at their home ground in the competition for the first time, and they will fancy their chances, boosted by a dominant record of seven wins in their last nine home matches against French rivals (L2).
Sporting’s 2-1 win over Marseille on matchday three is part of an existing nine-game winning streak and Jose Alvalade has a 12-game (D1) unbeaten streak, this dominance was evident on Friday when they beat Casa Pia 3-0 in the league.
That emphatic result served as a perfect response to their recent Taça da Liga semi-final elimination, while also helping the Lions retain second place. Primeira Liga tableHowever, they are seven points behind leaders Porto.
© Imago/Imago/PSNews
Also second in their domestic league, PSG are two points behind Lens Ligue 1 standingsDespite their solid 3-0 win over Lille at the weekend, Luis Enrique will be pleased with how his team responded to their exit from the Coupe de France at the hands of local rivals Paris FC before the game.
The defeat remains Les Parisiens’ only defeat in their last nine matches, which also included penalty shootout wins against Flamengo and Marseille to win the FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the French Super Cup respectively.
The only other game PSG failed to win in regulation during that period was their most recent Champions League outing, in which the French giants recorded a goalless draw at Athletic Bilbao despite registering eight shots on target to their hosts’ zero.
It is one of only two blemishes in an almost flawless performance in Les Parisiens’ last nine away games in the competition (W7, L1), so they should still go into Tuesday’s clash with confidence.
However, trips to Portuguese opposition do not hold happy memories, with only one win recorded in the last eight visits, while five have ended in defeat.
Sporting Lisbon Champions League form:
Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):
Paris Saint-Germain Champions League form:
Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):
team news
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Sporting will be without several key players, with Pedro Goncalves, Nuno Santos, Ousmane Diomande, Giovani Quenda and Fotis Ioannidis all ruled out through injury.
The hosts will also have to cope without the services of club captain Morten Hjulmand, who has been suspended for accumulating too many yellow cards, while Maximiliano Araujo is just one booking away from a match ban.
At the weekend, Daniel Bragança made his second appearance since returning from a long spell on the sidelines, marking it with a goal, while Janine Katamo also scored two goals on his return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
For PSG, Ballon d’Or holder Dembele scored twice at the weekend and could have added a Puskas contender to his collection with a daring chip and will enter this match full of confidence.
The visitors are also missing Kang-in Lee, Matvey Safonov, Joao Neves and Quentin Ndzontou through injury, while Lucas Hernandez faces a second consecutive Champions League suspension after being sent off on matchday five against Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, Achraf Hakimi’s Morocco lost to Ibrahim Mbaye’s Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday evening, although it may be too late for both players to join them on their return to the club.
After making 47 appearances for Sporting before joining Paris in 2021 and subsequently completing a permanent transfer, left-back Nuno Mendes will be looking to impress against his former club.
Sporting Lisbon probable starting lineup:
Silva; Araujo, Inácio, Reis, Fresneda; Morita, Simões; Guilherme, Trincao, Catamo; suarez
Paris Saint-Germain probable starting lineup:
Chevalier; Mendes, Marquinhos, Pacho, Araujo; Zaire-Emery, Ruiz, Vitinha; quaratskheliya, dembele, douay
We say: Sporting Lisbon 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
The tie promises to be extremely competitive, with a win giving Sporting a chance to reach the top eight, while a win for PSG would take them closer to automatic progression to the knockout stage.
However, we expect the visitors to take the lead in this contest despite recent setbacks given their pedigree as defending champions.
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